i [ speaking a foreign language ] back in power. shinzo abe forms his new cabinet after lawmakers re-elected as japanese prime minister, a job he left five years ago. welcome to nhk world "newsline." shinzo abe is getting down to the business of governing japan for the second time.

he says his new cabinet is taking all the challenges the country faces, including a sluggish economy and last year's disaster. abe explained in his news conference his cabinet is designed to overcome the crisis. he says reviving the economy is a top priority. >> translator: a strong economy is the basis of japan's power. reviving a strong economy is essential to japan's future. my cabinet will carry out bold financial policies, well-timed fiscal policies and a strategy to encourage private investment toward economic growth. my cabinet will carry out these economic policies and achieve results.

>> are prime minister abe says he and his minister also devote energy to foreign policy. he says they will strengthen diplomatic and security policies. >> translator: we should rebuild our diplomacy to protect our national interests. we are facing many challenges in our relations with china, south korea and even with the united states on which japan's security is based. strengthening japan/ize lie yans is the first step toward rebuilding japan's diplomacy and security. >> abe promised the central government will take the lead in rebuilding disaster-hit regions in northeastern japan, especially fukushima prefecture, home to the damaged nuclear

plant. the new prime minister says he will achieve results as soon as possible to redeem the trust of the japanese people. prime minister abe's launched his cabinet tuesday after the top lawmakers elected him to the top job. both houses of parliament elected abe as prime minister, a post he held between 2006 and 2007. abe is the first politician in 64 years to return to the position after resigning. his liberal democrats ruled japan almost continuously for half a century. abe has spent the past week or so shaping his cabinet. he has filled it with some new faces and some familiar ones. y. shihide suga has taken on the job of cabinet secretary that makes him the head government spokesperson. he announced the roster of ministers. former prime minister taro aso

takes the row. he is taking on the post of deputy prime minister, financial services minister. abe will be relying on his long-time ally's experience and economic expertise to help him deal with the persistent problem of deflation. fumio k. ishida is foreign minister. he served in abe's previous cab net. he will have to dial with the relocation of the u.s. marine corps futenma air station, among other issues. itsunori onede virginia. is defense minister. he has chaired a special lower house committee on okinawa and other terrors to and head of the ldp's foreign affairs division. economic revival minister is akira amari and i will spearhead a new task force on that issue and also responsible for the

council on economic and fiscal policy, which is being restored after it was cut by the previous government. shinzo abe is bringing a wealth of experience with him back to the prime minister's office, not just from his career but also from the lessons taught to him by his family. politic it is run in abe's blood. his grandfather was a prime minister. his father severed as foreign minister. abe launched his political career about 20 years ago. voters elected him to the lower house. his father died while running for prime minister. >> translator: i will fulfill my grandfather's wish. >> reporter: he was deputy secretary when he attended a trip to north korea ten years ago n 2006, he became japan's

youngest postwar prime minister at age 52. >> translator: i am determined to create a beautiful japan. >> but he stepped down after just one year in office, citing health problems. >> translator: i must resign as prime minister. >> abe stayed on in the diet after the his resignation, leading a group of lawmakers working to resolve the north korean abductions issue. he became the leader of the lick ral democratic party again in september of 2012. he offered assurance that he no longer had any health issues. >> translator: i am still responsible for my abrupt resignation five years ago. i will do everything his to bring about the ldp's return to

power. >> lower the house was dissolved in mid-november for a general election. during his election campaign, abe promised to restore a strong japan. the ldp and its partner, new co-mate toe, scored a landslide victory by securing 325 house seats, more than two-thirds the number contested. >> translator: the public still holds a strict view of the ldp, we must work hard to produce tangible results. japanese business leaders pinning their hopes on the abe cabinet to boost the sluggish committee economy. the chairman of the business federation says the cab set in very solid. ministers in charge of economic issues give him a sense of optimism. >> translator: i hope the ministers of the new cabinet will work for tighter cross border economic relations such

as the transpacific partnership free trade deal. i also want them to pull japan out of deflation. >> chairman of the chamber of commerce and industry said in a comment that he hopes for strong economic action to spur growth and he called for measures to hold japanese currency at the 90 yen level against the dollar. one of the major issues of the new government will be its involvement in monetary policy, taken by the central bank to end deflation and hold back the yen's advance. abe is urging the badge of japan to set an inflation target of 2%. he thinks if the central banks takes large-scale monetary easing measures, the country's economy would be revitalized. abe believes such measures would spur expectations for economic growth anded three a weaker yen and higher stock prices. bank of japan policymakers are scheduled to discuss issues, including the 2% inflation

target, at their meeting next month. the abe administration is facing another big challenge, how to carry out its pledges to improve japan's economy while at the same time controlling government spending. concerns are mounting as the country entered a recession. this means the economy shrank for two straight quarters. the new government plans to immediately compile a budget for fiscal twefrmt the ruling liberal democratic party vows to place importance on public works project he is, which would make the nation's ground stronger against disasters. introduction and promotion of renewable energy is also a pledge to go ahead with these policies, the government will have to continue issuing bonds, as no major increase in tax revenues can be expected.

u.s. lawmakers will resume budget talks as the year-end deadline for the fiscal cliff looms. u.s. president barack obama is cutting short his christmas holiday to carry on the negotiations to avert drastic budget cuts and tax increases. obama is scheduled to return to washington on thursday in time to restart talks. the u.s. president is asking congressional executives to compile a compromise plan that features continued tax cuts for the middle class. that represents a shift in his policy that called for higher taxes on the wealthy, along with measures to cut the fiscal deficit. talks between democrats and republicans came to a standstill last week. a deal still remains uncertain. the republicans canceled a vote on their compromise plan. that's because many republicans remain opposed to any kind of tax hikes. china has opened what it

calls the world's longest high-speed rail line. the railway links the capital city of beijing and ghangzhou in the south. shun ishibe have more. >> reporter: the first high-speed train for beijing is about to leave guangzhou south railway station. many passengers are carrying coats, because the temperature in beijing is about 20 degrees centigrade lower than here in guangzhou. the new line stretches nearly 2,300 kilometers, including a section already in service. the trip between the two cities will take about eight hours instead of the current 20 1/2 hours. china says it developed the high-speed train line on its own based on technologies used by japan's bullet train. the launch of the new service expands china's high-speed

railway network to more than 9,300 kilometers. officials plan to extend the network to 16,000 kilometers by 2020. the chinese government temporarily suspended construction of high-speed train lines after 40 people died in a two-train collision last year. but it has resumed construction with the aim of helping correct economic disparities between england and the coastal areas, and shoring up the economy. strong concerns remain in china about the safety of high-speed railways. >> translator: it's good to be fast, as well as safe. but safety should be given priority. >> reporter: railway ministry officials stress that they will

reinforce safety measures. these including limiting maximum speed to 300 miles per hour for the time being, 50 kilometers per hour slower than what the trains are capable of. shun ishibe, nhk world. a suicide bomber has struck a u.s. military base in afghanistan, killing three people. patchari raksawong joins us from our bureau in bangkok with the details. afghan police say the three casualties were all afghan citizens. the incident is casting a shadow on security in the country ahead of the planned withdrawal of international forces by the end of 2014. the attack occurred in the eastern city of khost on wednesday. its bomber drove a bomb up to the gate of a major facility and detonated the bomb inside the vehicle. a security guard and two civilians were killed in the blast. the afghan taliban takes

responsibility, saying it targeted local police and civilians serving the base. the nato-led international security forces say the bomber did not breach the base's perimeter. investigators are working to pinpoint what caused a passenger jet to crash in eastern myanmar on tuesday. government officials suspect pilot error. two people were killed in the accident. an air jet landed on a road about 3 kilometers from its destination at the airport. the aircraft broke apart and caught fire, killing one passenger and one bystander on the ground. 11 others were injured. government investigators examined the charred wreckage during the first day of their probe on wednesday. airline employees and witnesses say that an engine exploded right before the plane touched down. this would indicate that the jet had serious problems before it crash landed. however, a passenger told nhk that the crew gave no warnings.

>> so it wasn't anything unusual. or nothing to be concerned about. at that moment. but once we got underneath, there was immediately fields and when you look out, yep, there's something wrong. >> a dense fog covered the airport at the time, making for poor visibility. investigators suspect the pilot mistook the road for a landing strip at the airport and tried to land the troubled aircraft. people around the world are remembering those who were lost in the indian ocean tsunami eight years ago. one of the hardest-hit areas is still coming to terms with the disaster.

nhk world's shinya sato reports from banda aceh. >> reporter: the indian ocean tsunami hit a wide area from southeast asia to east africa the day after christmas in 2004. the disaster left more than 220,000 people dead or missing. on wednesday, 5,000 people attended the memorial service for victims from aceh province in western indonesia. it is near the epicenter of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami. more than 160,000 people died in this province alone. at the event, the provincial governor emphasized the importance of passing down the memory of the disaster, so people do not forget it. countries are making steps to be better prepared for natural disasters. last year, ten asean member nations set up a disaster

support center in jakarta, indonesia. >> translator: in order to prepare for a natural disaster it is vital to understand what one is. >> reporter: they are making steps to ensure they are prepared for natural disasters. >> reporter: they also set up a warehouse in malaysia to hold emergency supplies. aid was sent to the facility to the philippines where a typhoon struck earlier this month. also attending wednesday's ceremony were teachers from japan's northeastern region which was hit hard by a tsunami in march last year.

they expressed empathy with the people of aceh province. >> translator: people in both japan and indonesia lost many precious things in the tsunami. but i believe that we can look forward to a brighter future by cooperating and helping each other. >> translator: a natural disaster will hit us as soon as we forget. the ceremony allows people to remember victims and to remember to be a nation that is always prepared. shin ya sato, nhk world, indonesia.

the results so far have been eye-catching for a japanese artist. >> this woman decor rates porcelain in a japanese factory. it specializes in a style known as khatani ware known for its famous colors a kind since. usually, keller works out of the porcelain factory in vienna. it is europe's seconds oldest, founded in the early 18th century. keller is the youngest master painter but she has traveled to ishikawa preif he can hurricane is the home of kit tanny-style porcelain, to learn how it's painted. >> there are some differences

and it's very interesting to learn and to see and to get more inspiration for working at home. >> reporter: keller's first stop is the workshop of the popular kit tanny ware pay thor busan fukushima. here she can take a close look at his elaborate brush work surrounding the ceramics. keller was surprised that even for fine lines, kit tanny artists use brushes, the austrians use a kind ofani arti use brushes, the austrians use a kind of metallic pen.

>> reporter: next, keller was shown how to use pigment the kitani way. they use special pigments to make the five primary colors like red, blund yellow. for example, they mix the pigment with metal or glass. after firing, the color changes critically. this does not happen with austrian pigments. >> and what is this color? >> reporter: now keller gets down to work. after the basic design dries, she coats it with pigment. the design is a actual lip, popular in western porcelain. >> you see the rules after

firing. so it is a little bit difficult to imagine. >> reporter: and into the kiln it goes. success. the actual lip shows through and the pig.'snew color embellishes the work. >> i think there's some techniques that were very interesting, but we have to change the whole style when i want -- when i would do all the things i will take to my home or i will practice at home. >> reporter: people in the industry will have to keep an eye on keller. she could start an era of porcelain painting featuring the pest techniques of the east and west. it's not all holiday celebrations in the philippines

hit by another storm. robert pet is ta is here with the details. >> yes, we are continuing to watch this tropical storm wukong. traveling to the west, but seeing very heavy rainfall, the threat of flooding to western sides, and it will pull off, it will slightly strengthen and thenen in the south china sea. there is this inflow of moisture out of the philippines pushing its east coast of luzon. this is where you're still going to be seeing the risk of further flooding and landslides, especially on some of the steeper slopes here. even in manila, you can see rain showers and thunderstorm activity from this system as it does continue to linger here, at least pushing off there toward the west. so, we will still be watching this one the next several days. looking at south iron china, a stationary boundary here. this is already bringing rainfall and mixing in with snow in hugh nan provinces.

it will pull off to the northeast, affecting japan going into saturday and eventually sunday. but first, what we're contending with is the sea-effect snow. just continuing to push in from the northwest. winds gusting up to 108 kilometers per hour. a half a meter of snow expected for thursday evening. that will taper off. the next system comes in, it will bring them warmer air with it. the risk runs with that. you have the snow continuing to fall, it will increase the snow melt and avalanche risk in northern japan. let's take a look at the americas, we have that very significant comma cloud. that is continuing to push off toward the northeast. seeing severe weather across the southeast into the carolinas, even off toward virginia. already reports of tornadic activity coming out of the storm system. and now looks like that threat still is going to linger. farther towards the north, you will see the freezing rain.

in new york, gusts up to 50 kilometers per hour. far away from the ocean, that's where you will see the freezing rain risk. power lines could be falling down once you get accumulation on top of them. over the past several days, snow extending toward the west. if you're curious on who actually had a white christmas out here, this is the snow depth in the united states and canada. you can see much of northern half of the u.s. toward canada, you have snow on the ground. actually, into some of the higher elevations in the rockies, 50 to 100 millimeters, isolated areas will see more than that. really widespread snowfall has been seen here and that's a really quick way to look at it. and it will stay on the ground. why? cold air diving in from the north. houston, you were seeing a high at mid-20s, now 8 on your

wednesday. as we take a look over toward europe, continuing to see a low-pressure system moving across the british isles. bringing us heavy rain and icing conditions in portions of the uk. seeing slippery roads out here, also gusty winds pushing off toward the low country, also seeing heavy rainfall and into the alpine regions, winds gusting up to right around 100 kilometers per hour could be expected here, plus heavy snowfall. the good news outside of the mountains, temperatures for your high temperatures on your thursday are going to be mild here. london, a high of 8. paris, up to 11. look at rome and athens, both a pair of 17s here on your thursday. now here's a look at your extended forecast.

we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

from all of us at nhk news, have a great day. thanks for joining us. have a great day wherever you are.